Like Mother, Like Daughter (Season 3)

by originella

In the wake of the shooting, seventeen-year-old Iana Milkovich has turned to her old flame, Axel, for comfort. But when questions come knocking about her past, Iana decides she wants answers once and for all. With Axel's help, Iana decides to find someone from her past, someone she has never met, to try to piece together even more of her identity, yet is nervous about her findings.

2. The Taste of Things to Come

Chapter Two: Taste of Things to Come

"You look exhausted," mused Axel as he stepped into his bedroom, the following weekend, when we'd finally managed to carve out some time to stay at his place. He crossed over to his bed, where I sat in a tank top and shorts, and climbed right in, his boxers riding up slightly on his toned legs, which made my cheeks heat. His undershirt was from his school, University of Illinois at Chicago, and was frayed slightly, likely due to so many washes. "You doing okay?" he asked, placing his hands on my shoulders and rubbing them, and I leaned back into it, his strong hands working away the knots that had successfully developed there throughout the week. "Talk to me," he said gently.

"Just a long week," I said softly, shutting my eyes at the feeling of his fingers digging just rightly into my flesh. "I'm just glad that you're not pissed that I checked my phone every few minutes while we were watching the movie…"

Axel's hot breath met my neck then, and I bit my lower lip as he gently kissed me there. "Of course I'm not," he replied. "Not like we were in a movie theater. And besides, it's Hailey's first night away from you."

"I know that Mom and Dad were cool with watching her, but I still worry…"

"She's your baby," Axel said, his thumbs working my shoulders. "I'm not about to complain. I mean, you told me about your obligation to her from the beginning, and I totally understand it, Iana, really. I'm not about to take you away from her. I just thought we could use one night away, but if you're uncomfortable, I'll take you home."

"I know. Thank you," I said softly. "But they promised to watch her until Sunday afternoon, and it's only Friday night. I trust them. They've modified their schedules for the weekend accordingly, and Pops and Uncle Ian are stepping in for a few hours both days when Dad has to catch up on some case documents, and Mom has to run to the diner. I know she's still a baby, but this'll be good practice for the future. Franny says so."

Axel stops massaging my back then and unexpectedly pulls me closer. "I'm sorry," he said in the moment of silence that followed. "It's just… I keep thinking about the trial and everything that's connected to it…"

I nodded, leaning back and placing my hands on top of his, which were around my shoulders. "I know. I get it, Axel, really. I mean, it's just… A lot."

Axel pressed his lips to my forehead. "Guess I'm just scared about everything, you know?" he said, his voice soft.

"No, I don't know," I replied, shifting slightly so as I could look into his eyes. "What do you mean? Is everything okay?"

He sighed. "Do you wish we could be more open about our relationship?"

I lowered my eyes, biting my lower lip again. "Sure, I guess I wish we didn't have to be so careful about who we talk to about it. But part of your job is the whole law enforcement thing. I don't think the authorities would take too kindly to the knowledge that your girlfriend is not only underage, but has a child by another man…"

Axel scoffed. "They won't care about the second part. Andy may be a douchebag, but you two were both underage when you hooked up, and no crime was committed there."

"No crime is being committed here, either," I replied. "We care about each other, and are in a relationship. Sure, our first time around wasn't the most logical thing, given the whole sneaking around and conflict of interest aspect to it, not to mention the fact that I was way too young to be acting that way…"

"Still think you're too young?"

I sighed. "No, not so much now. I've had to grow up a lot since I was a kid, and even more so this past year. Even before I decided I wanted to keep Hailey, I knew that the whole decision-making process behind the pregnancy would change my life. Not like going through with the original plan to terminate the pregnancy wouldn't affect me…"

"What do you think you'd be doing now, if you didn't hook up with Andy?"

I shrugged. "Probably be preparing to move to Northwestern, to the dorm they assigned me before I told them that I couldn't attend. Mom said she'd take me shopping for it, so I'd likely be doing a massive load of laundry before loading up the car and heading up there."

"And if you'd had the abortion?"

I bit my lip. "If I hadn't gone off the deep end and slipped down into a major depression after the fact, I'd probably still be preparing to go to college…"

Axel reached out then, tracing my thorns and roses tattoo on my left arm. "You have any regrets in your life?"

I smirked, reaching around and gently touching the topmost part of his muscled chest, which sported black wings, which he'd gotten to symbolize his rebellious attitude, plus Cara, flying off to a better place in the event of her death. "I don't know," I replied, not really sure of what he meant as I locked my eyes with his. "Do you?"

He sighed. "Maybe the way we started things, and ended them," he said, deliberately avoiding eye contact with me, although he did stiffen at my touch. "I didn't treat you right, Iana, and I don't think I'll ever be able to make up for that."

I reached my hand upwards then, cupping his cheek and trailing my thumb across his bottom lip, which directly caused him to raise his eyes back to mine. "We didn't know what we were doing when everything was happening," I said quietly. "Not that I doubted Cara for a minute, but, for all I knew, Judge Whitmore could've turned against my entire family and could've found me guilty, and sentenced me to the maximum. I think my reckless behavior partially extended from that, plus the buried feelings and secrets I had in association to Tommy's past treatment of me. I mean, I'm still not perfect, but once I was able to tap into the full extent of what had been done to me, did the healing truly begin. And both you and Hailey have helped with the healing, more than either of you can know."

"I want you to know that I heard you, that last day we talked," he said softly, his breath hot on my hand as I hesitated, close by his lips again. "When you said that you wanted to be there to help me, but couldn't, given all the bullshit you had to sift through. Look, I get it… This relationship will never seem to be logical or normal in the eyes of most society, but I can tell you that I will be here for you, whatever you need."

I lean in then, kissing him, tasting him, and almost feeling like I couldn't ever have enough. "I want to let you know that it constantly feels like you're telling me goodbye," I tell him, both my hands on his cheeks by this point. "You don't need to do that, you know."

Axel sighed. "Yeah, I do."

I shook my head at him. "What do you mean? Of course you don't…"

"No, Iana, you don't get it," he said, stiffening again as I settled directly on top of him, and I felt him beginning to rise for the occasion. "You need to understand that I know that this whole thing between us isn't forever; it can't be forever. What with the dreams that you want for your life that you still haven't fully tapped into for the long term, and then there's me, and my job and the obligation I have to it. Sure, I care about you and Hailey a whole hell of a lot, but there's our age difference to consider…"

I rolled my eyes. "You know as well as I do that I never gave a fuck about your age, Axel. Hell, I was fourteen when we started doing what we were doing. Now, I'm seventeen, and I know what I want more than ever…"

Axel bit his lip. "You're at the age where you're so sure of what you want, Iana. Fuck, I mean, I was positive that I knew what I wanted at your age, but it changed within the next six months, because of the fact that, stereotypically, teenagers are fickle."

I scoffed. "I'm not most teenagers, Axel," I told him, my voice firm as I stared into his eyes. "I mean, I know you know that. You must know that…"

"I know, Iana, I know that. Of course I know that. But you also need to understand that I might not be what's best…"

"For me?!" I demanded, staring at him, open-mouthed. "Just because I'm seventeen and you're almost thirty, does not mean that you're not what's best for me."

"I meant for Hailey," Axel said, gently putting his hands on my shoulders. "Look, I'm not saying I don't care about her or you. I do; I really do. And I'm not trying to let you down easy, Iana, because I do want to be with you. I'm just letting you know that I would never want to force you into anything you didn't want."

"Maybe you just don't give yourself enough credit," I replied steadily then, smiling down at him as I allowed myself to position myself in a way that there would be no getting out of bed for the time being. "Because, from where I'm sitting, you're what's best for me and Hailey, and I'm not going anywhere," I assured him, leaning down to kiss him again.

. . .

I surprised Axel with breakfast in bed the following morning, which seemed to surprise him greatly, and I left him to it whilst I cleaned up the kitchen. He caught me when I was scrubbing the final pan, which I'd cooked his omelet in that morning, and put his plate and silverware into the dishwasher, before coming up behind me and encircling his arms around my waist. I leaned into him slightly as I continued washing the pan, and placed it into his drying rack, washing my hands before I turned around to face him.

"Hey," I said, standing on my toes and kissing him. "Enjoy your breakfast?"

"Of course I enjoyed it. You're an amazing cook, Iana."

I sighed. "Had to learn how when I was five," I said with a little shrug; despite Axel knowing pretty much everything there was to know about my past, it was still difficult to talk about. "I never stopped learning how, though. I still watch cooking videos and study recipes every chance I get; breaks from work, after Hailey goes to bed…"

He tightened his grip on me. "I'm so sorry you had to do it alone."

I shook my head. "Don't be. My aunt, Fiona, had to go through it by herself, too, with two brothers originally, but then she had two more siblings to take care of after that. Thankfully, Mom waited to have Carla and Charlie until after we were all back home…"

Axel mulled that over for a moment, his dark brows coming together at that. "You said that your aunt raised four younger siblings…"

I nodded. "Yeah. That's right."

"But, she's got five…"

"Oh, that," I said. "It's a long story," I said softly.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Wanna talk about it?"

I shrugged. "Not really."

"Fair enough," he replied. "So, what have you been thinking of doing, long term? I mean, a waitressing gig at your mom's restaurant is all well and good, but sooner or later you'll want to move out with Hailey…"

I sighed. "I know. I mean… I've been re-thinking about college…"

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it's a wonderful opportunity. I think I'd be great at it."

"Of course you would be great, Iana," Axel said with a grin. "Still thinking about majoring in business, though?"

I grinned up at him. "In some respect," I replied, pulling Axel with me back towards the bedroom, and into his en suite bathroom, and kicking the door shut with my heel. I did my best to keep my eyes glued to the tile floor as I mechanically reached out and lifted the oversized college T-shirt off him, so that he stood there, only clad in his boxers.

Axel sighed, reaching out and stroking my neck and collar bone with his hands. "You know, you don't have to do that, Iana…"

I swept my lashes upwards then, my eyes meeting his. "Do what?" I asked.

"Try to distract me with sex," he replied simply.

I bit my lip and shook my head. "I wasn't…"

"It's okay," he said, his voice gentle then as his palms moved back down to my shoulders. "I know the way we think. We're survivors, Iana, and it's fucking hard to be one and still go on in your day-to-day life, but, somehow, we manage to do it…"

I sighed, putting my forehead against his chest, hating it when the hot tears escaped from my eyes before I could call them back. "It is fucking hard," I whispered. "My family's full of us, survivors, and I never bring it up with them, because…"

"You don't want them to relive what you're forced to," he said softly. "Triggers can be anything; a sound, a smell, an emotion, an event… Doesn't matter. The point is, we could relive what happened to us a thousand different times in one day, or just once, or not at all. The hardest part is, once you bring it up to another person, confiding in them, you may learn their story at the same time, or it'll just be a trigger for them…"

"I just wish I knew why he got off on the power of…" I said, my voice breaking then, and I found that I couldn't say it.

"He's sick," Axel replied. "I know that all the experts say that… What fucking sucks about the system is that, the higher-up you are, the less likely it is that you'll get somebody who believes that it really happened…"

"Yeah, but I know what happened," I tell him, raising my eyes back to his. "I know exactly what happened, and I believe you."

He smiled. "Thanks. I'm glad I have you."

"Of course you have me," I replied. "I love you. You know that."

Axel leaned down then and brushed his lips with mine. "I love you, too, Iana."

"Now, come on," I said, smiling at him then and gently pulling him. "Let's take a shower so we don't smell like eggs all day. Okay?"

"And miss a chance to see you with water dripping off your perfect skin?" Axel asked, and I felt a giggle escaping my lips. "Can't pass that up."

"Oh, you'll see it," I assured him, breaking away from him and pulling the nozzle of the shower and adjusting it to an appropriate temperature. "We still have another full day and night together before I have to get back to Hailey, and I want you to take as much advantage of our time together as you possibly can."

"Take advantage of our time together, huh?" Axel asked, turning me around then and easily the tank top off from the top half of my body, and letting it fall to the ground before he looped his fingers into my shorts. "You mean like this?" he wanted to know, yanking down my shorts and pressing my back up against the cold wall of the bathroom.

I laughed then, placing my hand on his chest then and pushing him across the bathroom, to the pound where I had him pinned back against the opposite wall. "Maybe something like that, Mr. Richland, yeah," I said, grinning up at him.

Axel stiffened at that then, and promptly yanked down my panties, and I reached out and did the same to his boxer shorts. "Come on, then," he said, lifting me up effortlessly and putting me into the shower, and I squealed as he set me down then, climbing in right after me, so that the water quickly drenched us both. "The things you make me do, Iana," he joked, turning me around then and lathering up his bar of soap in his hands, before he painstakingly rubbed and scrubbed my back with them. "I've never been like this with anyone…"

"Hmmm," I said by way of response, quickly maneuvering my raven mane down my front, so as it wouldn't get caked in body wash. "Can't say I've ever been this way with anyone, either. Not really my style…"

"Glad I could change that," Axel replied steadily, turning me around after he finished washing my back, and making sure that all the soap was washed away.

I took the bar of soap next and turned him around, soaping him up carefully, so as not to potentially frighten him. "You're different," I said quietly, the soap bubbles on the surface of his skin making me smirk. "Can't say I ever met anyone like you before…"

"You happy, though?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at me. "You know I'd never make you do anything you didn't want to do."

I smiled at him then, slowly leaning forward and kissing his cheek. "Of course I'm happy," I told him then, meaning it. "You haven't given me any reason for being unhappy."

"Not at the moment," he said, sighing then, gently switching places with me to get the soap off from his back.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Look, I know that we've made up for it, but I'm still kicking myself about that Christmas," he said quietly then, wetting his hair beneath the shower head and squirting some shampoo into his outstretched hand.

I shook my head. "No reason to, Axel. Like you said, we've made up for it. It's in the past, and I've forgiven you."

He sighed. "You may have forgiven me, Iana, and I appreciate that, but that doesn't mean that I have to forgive myself."

I swallowed then, stepping forward and standing on my toes, whereupon I took his face into my hands and pressed his forehead against mine. "I'm not saying you have to forgive yourself today, Axel, or even tomorrow. But you've got to forgive yourself, because, the sooner you do, the sooner you can move on," I told him, my voice firm.

. . .

It was quite a surprise to me that evening when Axel told me that he got the two of us reservations at an upscale restaurant known for steak. Thankfully, I'd packed something that I considered suitable in my overnight bag, which just so happened to be a little black dress. I put it on quickly, running my hands over the smooth material before I slipped on my black, patent leather pumps and clipped on my heart locket studded with diamonds, which I wore pretty much every single day. I next went to the bathroom, doing my hair, which mainly consisted of just brushing it so it looked all right to be seen in public, and my makeup, in which I highlighted my eyes and lips so that I appeared over eighteen in public, for Axel's sake.

I beamed at Axel as I clutched my matching clutch purse and took his offered arm; he looked absolutely delicious that evening in a white, collared shirt, black blazer, matching black pants, and black dress shoes. "You look nice tonight," I said as we headed downstairs and towards Axel's black, two-door Lexus RC, his pride and joy, and grinned as Axel opened the passenger door for me and let me inside.

Axel shut my door and circled around the car, getting into the driver's side and fastening his seatbelt, and I copied his movements. "So, do you," he said, fishing his keys out of his pocket and starting the car. "Nice locket."

"This?" I asked, looking down at it. "I always wear it, you know that."

"Yeah, I know," he said, pulling out of his parking space and driving down the road. "It's really nice, though."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"Your pops buy that for you?"

I shook my head. "You kidding? Him and Uncle Ian don't have that kind of money. There are real diamonds on this thing."

"You serious?" Axel asked, peering closer at it as we came to the first stoplight.

"They're put on tastefully," I told him with a little shrug.

"So, your Mom and Nicholas get you that?"

I shook my head again. "No, it wasn't from them either."

"I see," Axel replied, stepping on the gas just before we drove through the intersection, after the light changed. "So… Who got it for you?"

I sighed. "I'm actually not sure," I admitted, fingering it for a moment as we kept on driving. "I have a guess, but I still don't know."

"What's the guess, then?"

"I thought it was from an assistant of Penny's," I told him. "Her name is Cherie. Nice lady. Just got engaged last summer to her long term boyfriend. Rose, Penny's mother, told me that Cherie buys gifts for anyone in the family or close to the family."

"You're considered close?"

"Well, you know as well as I do that I'm Penny's best friend," I said. "And Rose considers me to be the second daughter she never had. We saw a lot of them this summer…"

Axel nodded. "I know. I remember."

I sighed. "Is this about Liam?" I asked.

Axel muttered something incoherent then as we pulled into the lot adjoining the restaurant; I got out myself, as he was being difficult and wasn't being upfront with me. Nevertheless, he took my hand as we stepped into the restaurant. "Two under Richland," he said to the hostess.

"Oh, of course, Mr. Richland," he said, with a cursory glance at me before gathering up a couple of menus. "Your booth in the back is all prepared for you."

I remained silent as we walked towards the booth, hearing the chatter of the two-dozen or so conversations going on around us as we drifted through the dining room. Finally, we reached the booth and I sat down, Axel doing the same; it was one of those circular booths, and was semi-private, given the high walls on either side to accommodate the back cushions. I smiled and thanked the hostess as she handed over our menus and told us that a waiter would be with us shortly before she breezed back to the front.

"You know, I don't want you to worry," I said quietly to Axel, as I did my best to focus on my menu, and wonder who in their right mind through that pate and fig jam went together. "My relationship with the Kennedy family is strictly platonic."

Axel sighed, leaning back against the cushions as he mulled it over. "I know that, Iana. I know it is, at least from your end."

Slowly, I lowered my menu. "What's that supposed to mean?"

His brows knitted together then. "I don't know. Something about the way Penny's brother looks at you…"

"You mean Liam?"

"Yeah… Liam. The way he looks at you, like he wants to say something, but doesn't have to balls to cough it up."

"You know our history," I explained gently. "I told you as much when we got back together. I wanted to begin again in an honest manner with you, Axel. Clean slate, no secrets. I think I more than upheld my end of the bargain."

"I know, and you have," Axel said quickly. "It just… I don't know. The whole thing makes me a little uneasy and, quite frankly, uncomfortable."

"You don't have to be," I assured him, reaching out and putting my hand on top of his. "I'm promising you, here and now, that Liam and I are just friends, just like Penny and me are. And besides, all the Kennedy's love Hailey."

"I know, and I trust you, Iana," he said, raising his eyes to mine. "Really. I trust you. It's just hard because it's like Liam's your ex."

I sighed. "He's not my ex. He never was. We just hooked up a handful of times. And that's all it was, Axel. Hooking up. I promise."

He nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll drop it."

I nodded back at him. "Good idea."

"So, listen," he said, smiling at me, "I'll admit, I had ulterior motives for coming here tonight…"

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, did you?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I did. I wanted us to discuss, in the future, about you and I potentially moving in together," he said, and I felt my jaw almost hit the table.

. . .

Heading back into work on Monday after a physically draining weekend was near-torture, but I somehow managed to do it. After getting back home on Sunday, Hailey was overwhelmed with happiness to see me again, and we spent the next several hours catching up, as much as one could with a nearly-eight-month-old, before she fell asleep at the appointed hour. The following morning, I dropped her off at daycare and headed into work, meeting Franny in the employee locker room.

"Hey," I said, accepting her hug.

"Hey yourself," she said, flashing me a smile. "You okay? You look like a wreck…"

I laughed, rolling my shoulders. "Spent most of the weekend with Axel, as you know. Let's just say I'm pretty beat."

Franny raised her eyebrows. "Got it," she said, watching me as I loaded up my locker, and as she tied her apron in place. "Don't get too comfortable before the shift."

"Yeah?" I asked. "Why?"

"Your mom wants to see us in her office before we start."

"Great," I muttered, sitting down on the bench before placing my head in my hands and massaging my temples. "Just what I need this morning…"

"How was your homecoming?"

I scoffed. "She wanted to know every little detail," I muttered into my hands. "She did some of my laundry when I was gone and she noticed one of my dresses was missing."

"Well, she would notice something like that," Franny put in as I raised my eyes to hers. "Face it, Iana, you have lots of beautiful dresses that you never fucking wear."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "They're just not practical," I said, throwing up my hands in the air in a moment of exasperation. "Pardon me if I like tank tops and shorts more…"

Franny smirked at me. "You wear them to sleep in, to work when the weather permits, and to events and outings," she said. "Face it, Iana, you're just not the girly type."

"Not entirely," I huffed, getting to my feet and making a grab for my apron. "Just like dressing comfortably. Sue me."

Franny laughed, throwing an arm around my shoulders after we'd slammed our lockers and made our way down to my mother's office. "Just breathe," she told me, squeezing my shoulder in encouragement. "It can't be that bad. Besides, I'll back you up, no matter what."

I nodded. "Back at ya," I replied, knocking on her office door.

"Come in!" she called.

I stepped inside with Franny then, leaning up against her in support. "Okay, we're here," I said, looking at my mother, who stood up from her desk.

"Good morning, Aunt Murphy," Franny said, and I could've kicked her for how sickly-sweet she managed to sound.

She laughed. "Well, Franny, first of all, I want to commend you on how you handled that difficult customer last week," she said.

"The one with the fish sandwich?" she asked.

Mom nodded. "Yeah. We took it off the menu; couldn't stand the smell of it myself," she joked, and Franny laughed. "And I also wanted to tell you that yesterday was Leanne's last day on the job."

"Leanne's gone?" I asked, naming the woman who was the manager from the time I was a little girl, when Mom had inherited the place from Aunt Fiona.

"Yeah, Leanne decided to move on," Mom replied.

"We'll all miss her," Franny put in.

"Of course we will," Mom said. "But, now, Franny, I wanted to take this opportunity to offer you the job as manager."

Franny blinked. "Me, Aunt Murphy?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "I gave you the assistant manager position when you were sixteen, and you took to it immediately. I think that you'd make a fine replacement for Leanne, if I do say so myself."

Franny gasped. "You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," Mom said with a laugh. "You'll be making four dollars more an hour, plus have paid vacation, overtime, and time and a half, the first one being only available to the manager and the owner. Sometimes, you'll be in charge, as I'm helping Nicholas more at the firm these days, but I'll let you know. You've had your own key since you were promoted last time around, so that's done. You'll also be in charge of going over the order forms, and making sure that we've got specific things in stock, which you will present to me, and I'll do the ordering myself, of course. Let me know if certain things aren't moving in the kitchen—a certain spice or a specific product—and we'll determine whether or not it needs to be ordered again. You're also welcome to recommend changes to the menu, of course…" Mom ticked off the things she'd just said in her head, before she nodded to herself. "Any questions?"

Franny shook her head. "Oh. Wait. One. When do I start?"

"Today," Mom replied.

"I'll take the job!" Franny cried out then, shaking Mom's hand. "Should I head out there right now, or do you want me to stay?"

"Go ahead," Mom replied. "I'll make the announcement when I finish with Iana."

"Thanks, Aunt Murphy!" Franny said, and skipped out of there, literally on cloud nine.

"As for you, Iana," Mom said, turning to me, "I'd really like you to take over Franny's job as assistant manager."

I swallowed then. "Really?"

"Really," Mom said, smiling.

I shuffled from one foot to the other. "Look, I really could use the money, given that I've got Hailey now," I said, "and don't think I'm not grateful, but…"

"But what, Iana?"

"I don't want you giving me the job just because I'm your daughter," I replied.

She nodded. "I understand that. And I'm not. I'm giving you the job because I think you'd do a damn good job of it, and Patsy's deserves a damn good assistant manager." She hesitated for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm not offering you the job because you're my daughter, or whatever. I'm giving you the job because you're you."

I scoffed then, but found I was smiling. "Okay, but don't ever fucking say something like that again. You sound like fucking a Hallmark card."

Mom put her hands on her hips. "You talking to me like a mother or like a boss?"

I threw my head back and laughed. "Does it matter?"

Mom joined in my laugher. "No, I guess it doesn't, because even I thought I sounded like a goddamned card," she said, yanking me into her arms and hugging me, as we tried to keep each other standing, but we were laughing too hard to care.